Tomboy
by Emily Carol
Summary: [Completel 5.3.04] AU Rory was put up for adoption after birth. Now she's 16 and has finally learned the truth. She goes out in search of her mother, only to land in a life that no tomboy like her could ever stand.
1. Chapter 1

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Author's note: Hey! I'm starting to post my fanfics that I didn't have on here because my layout on my new site is really being delayed. The guy that does my layouts is a wrestler and he thought he broke his nose, turns out he has a blood clot in his nose, pleasant isn't it? He's gonna try and do my layout soon but I hate depriving people who read my stuff. So here's another story of mine.  
  
Also! I'm looking for multiple betas to help me with my story, On Eagle's Wings. It's my perfectionist piece and I really want more feedback than my two betas (one is a non-Gilmore Girl watcher but it's AU so it doesn't matter really) are giving me. So e-mail me at BeautynBeastGurl@netscape.net if you are interested in being a beta for me. If you want a summary I'll give it to you before the whole story.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Rory slammed the door of her small home right outside of New York City. "I'm home," she yelled.   
  
"Keep it down," Chris yelled at her.   
  
"You keep it down," Rory shot back at him. Chris was a year older than her and a high school dropout as of last year.   
  
"Make me," Chris said.   
  
"I will," Rory said sizing him up. He was so short Rory had three inches on him.   
  
"Forget it," Chris said. "I don't fight girls."   
  
"More like you're scared," Rory said making her way into the kitchen leaving him behind in the family room steaming from the ears.   
  
"Must you wear those clothes Rory?" her mom asked her as she entered the kitchen.   
  
Rory looked down at the baggy jeans she'd gotten from the Goodwill store that were meant for a guy most likely and red hodded sweatshirt she'd stolen from Chris's closet that morning. "I don't see anything wrong with them." She walked to the fridge and grabbed the carton of milk from it.   
  
"Use a glass," Mom said.   
  
Rory made a face and reached for one of the glasses sitting in the cabinet next to her.   
  
"Honestly Rory," her mom said. "You're sixteen today and you're a tomboy? Why can't you be a little more girly?"   
  
"'Cause I don't feel like it," Rory drowned the milk and walked out of the kitchen.   
  
Slamming the door to her bedroom she sat down on her bed and reached for her backpack. She was just starting her homework when a small knock came at her door.   
  
"What do you want?" Rory asked looking down at her math book.   
  
Ricky and Joe peeked their heads in the door. They were only a year apart and looked exactly like twins except that Ricky had green eyes and Joe had brown.   
  
"Wanna play basketball?" they asked together.   
  
Rory looked down at her homework. It was all boring, she could do it after dinner since it wouldn't take all that long.   
  
"Sure."   
  
Ricky and Joe smiled and ran down the hall to where Rory's other brothers Jake, Kevin, and Josh waited. "She said she'd play!" they yelled together. "She said she'd play!"   
  
The three of them smiled at them. Ricky and Joe came in the two youngest of the family of seven at 10 and 11 (Ricky was older). Josh was 13, Kevin was 14, and Jake was exactly ten months younger than Rory at 15 but because of cutoffs they were both sophomores.   
  
Rory smiled at her brothers as she walked out the front door to the basketball court at the rundown park across the street where she went on to cream Ricky, Kevin, and Jake's butts, with a little help from Joe and Josh.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I"ve got most of it written and I'm just gonna post when I have time. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	2. Chapter 2

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!  
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Rory lay on her stomach in her room. She kicked around a pillow on her bed with her feet as she quickly worked through her math homework.   
  
She heard a small rap on her door just as she was putting her book away in her backpack. "Who is it?" she asked standing up and walking over to her bookshelf and looking through the books.   
  
"Mom," Rory heard her mom say through the door. Her voice seemed kind of strange.   
  
"Come in," Rory pulled out a book and sat on her bed.   
  
"Hi honey," her mom said.   
  
"Hi Mom," Rory said.   
  
"So, sixteen today huh?"   
  
"Yeah," Rory said. "Thanks for the new backpack, the old one's in shreds." She geastured to the yellow one sitting in the corner and had a huge hole in the top.   
  
"Sorry it wasn't more but you know we don't get much income," her mom said.   
  
"I know," Rory said. "It's fine."   
  
"Well I have one more gift for you Rory," her mom said.   
  
"What?" Rory asked confused. How could they afford another gift?   
  
"Opportunity."   
  
"Opportunity for what?" Rory asked confused. What was her mom getting at here?   
  
"A better life."   
  
"What's wrong with my life now?" Rory asked. "I have all of you. You're my family. My blood-"   
  
She was cut off. "No, you're not."   
  
"What?" Rory asked louder than she should have.   
  
"Shh," her mom said. "A year after Chris was born your dad and I didn't think we'd be able to have anymore kids. I desperately wanted a daughter so we applied for adoption. That was when your dad had a good job with good income and we had a decent amount of money. We got you from a girl who was only sixteen. Her parents forced her to put you up for adoption and they told us that you shouldn't know that you were adopted until we saw fit, perferably your sixteenth birthday. Well two months later I found myself pregnant again and along came Jake. And then all the others. Then just after Ricky was born your father lost his job and we were forced to move here so he could work as a low paid janitor instead of the great teacher he's meant to be."   
  
"So you're not my mom?" Rory asked. "I spent my whole life thinking you were my mom and you aren't?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"So what do I call you now? If you're not my mom what do I call you?"   
  
"I guess you can just call me Elizabeth," Elizabeth told her referring to her first name.   
  
Rory nodded. "So what's the opportunity?"   
  
"You're sixteen. You can go do whatever you want. When Chris turned sixteen he dropped out of school. And knowing you I'm guessing you're going to find your mother aren't you?" Elizabeth said.   
  
"Well what else am I supposed to do?" Rory yelled at Elizabeth. She stood up and walked to the door of her room. "I spent my whole life thinking you were my mother and now I find out you're not? I can't believe you never told me!" She stormed out of the room and Elizabeth heard the front door slam.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I"ve got most of it written and I'm just gonna post when I have time. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	3. Chapter 3

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!  
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested.  
  
Two chapters in one day... feel lucky  
  
****  
  
Chapter 3   
  
Rory wandered the halls of Washington High School. The janitors had left the back door open and she'd walked in. She imagined what it would be like in a few hours. Students running up and down the halls and teachers screaming at them to slow down. This wasn't exactly the best place to be. The school had just gotten off of academic probation last year but in Rory's opinion they should still be on it.  
  
She wandered to her locked and turned her padlock to the correct numbers, 1-30-8. She forced it open to notice her battered copy of Oliver Twist had gotten it jammed. She leaned against the locker next to hers and looked into hers. Should it be here tomorrow? Should she be here?  
  
Where else would she be?  
  
Finding her mother, that's what.  
  
Rory knelt down on the ground and slowly pulled out the books she hadn't taken home and wandered down the halls to the library. She placed them on the check in counter and walked back to her locker.  
  
She pulled out her notebooks and slowly took pictures of her and the guys off the door's inside. Finally she pulled out her extra pencil case. She stared at it and slowly pulled out a thick black peremenant locker.  
  
Lorelai Leigh Was Here.  
  
She sighed and shut her locker and slowly walked out of Washington High School for what was probably the last time in her life.  
  
***  
  
Back at the house she emptied out her backpack she'd just gotten and threw in some clothes and other necessities. Silently picking up her math book she'd thrown out of her backpack when she'd emptied it she crept towards the boy's room. The house only had three bedrooms so all the boys stayed in one. Rory stuck the math book and with a letter with it outside their room.  
  
The letter read:  
  
To My Dearest Brothers,  
  
I don't know if you knew this, but I'm not really your sister. Elizabeth just told me tonight that I was adopted. I'm off to find my real mom who was sixteen when she had me and forced to give me up. I've cleaned out my locker at school already but I need this book taken back. I'm sorry to leave all of you but right now I need some time to find out who I really am.  
  
Love Always,  
  
Rory  
  
P.S. My room's up for grabs.  
  
Rory walked into the kitchen to see Elizabeth sitting there quietly staring into a cup of coffee.  
  
"Who is she?" Rory asked her.  
  
"You're mother?" Elizabeth asked not looking up.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Gilmore," Elizabeth said. "I don't remember her first name. I keep thinking it's Lorelai but that's your name. I believe she still lives in Hartford."  
  
Rory nodded, "Thanks."  
  
"We're going to miss you," Elizabeth said finally looking up at her.  
  
Rory said nothing but walked over to her Mom and wrapped her arms around her.  
  
After a second she broke the embrace and walked out the front door.  
  
The sun was just starting to rise by now and Rory set off to find out who she really was.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I"ve got most of it written and I'm just gonna post when I have time. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	4. Chapter 4

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers! I wasn't planning on responding to reviews on this story much but I had a few I wanted to for chapter 3:  
  
MOST PEOPLE - I've been asked about pairings, there aren't any in this story, something I don't normally do.  
  
An Adopted Person - I don't have much experience with adoption, I know a couple adopted people, but three of them are from Russia and two or three from China, only one from America. But I do know that, like most situations, people react differently to finding out their adopted. And the fact that adoptive mothers don't just say one day that you're adopted isn't always true, it happens. Mother's and father's want their children to know things. And about Rory's reaction, again, people act differently. Besides, it's just the beginning, her adoptive family just doesn't disappear after the first chapters.  
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested. Or leave a note in your review  
  
****  
  
Chapter 4   
  
Rory slowly walked off the bus. The sun had risen and she stood and looked all around her at the Hartford bus station seeing the rays of light through the window.  
  
This was it.  
  
A policeman walked up to her. "Excuse me little girl," he said.  
  
"Who are you calling little?" Rory asked him.  
  
"Sorry," the policeman said. "But by any chance does your mother or father know where you are?"  
  
"Well, you see here, no, they don't. But I'm not a runaway," Rory said.  
  
"Then what are you?" the policeman said.  
  
"My mother doesn't know who the hell I am," Rory said. "Well she does, but last time she saw me I was a tiny baby and she handed me over to another pair of parents then. I don't know a thing about her except she used to live in Hartford and her last name is Gilmore. Now excuse me while I try to go find out who I am." Rory shoved past the policeman and walked to a phone booth.  
  
"Gilmore..." she said to herself. "Gilmore, Gilmore, Gilmore..." she flipped the pages of the phone book.  
  
"Eureka I've found it," she said dryly while laughing at herself. "God, there's a hell of a lot of Gilmores." She ripped the page out of the phone book and folded it before placing it in her pocket. She sighed and walked out of the phone booth.  
  
Avoiding the police officer she left the bus station quickly.  
  
***  
  
Rory walked slowly to the door of a huge mansion. She'd already been through half of the Gilmores, none of them knew who she was or who her mother might be.  
  
"Gilmore, Richard," she read from the sheet she held. Double checking the address she knocked on the door.  
  
A maid answered the door, "May I help you?" she asked. She seemed shocked to see a girl with long hair down her back, baggy jeans, and a sweatshirt standing at the door.  
  
"I need to speak to Richard Gilmore or someone else in this household with the last name of Gilmore," Rory said.  
  
"Do you have an appointment?" the maid asked.  
  
"No," Rory said. "But it's really important and it'll only take a second."  
  
"I'll see if Mrs. Gilmore will see you as Mr. Gilmore is on business," the maid said inviting her in.  
  
Rory stood in the hallway as the maid walked up the stairs.  
  
Moments later a short lady with short brown hair came down. "We don't want to buy anything," she said to Rory with a tone of voice that sounded annoyed.  
  
"I'm not selling anything," Rory said. She didn't think this could be her mother, she seemed too old, not young enough to have had her when she was sixteen.  
  
"Well then what do you want?" Mrs. Gilmore asked.  
  
"I'm wondering if you know a Lorelai?" Rory asked.  
  
"I know three," Mrs. Gilmore said dryly.  
  
"Lorelai Leigh?" Rory asked hoping for more.  
  
Mrs. Gilmore looked surprised at the sound of the name. "I haven't seen Lorelai Leigh for sixteen years as of yesterday," she said. "Now I wish you not to bring memories of that nature into this household. Now if I may ask you to leave-" Rory cut her off.  
  
"I'm Lorelai Leigh," she said.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I"ve got most of it written and I'm just gonna post when I have time. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	5. Chapter 5

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!   
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested. Or leave a note in your review.  
  
Yeah, I have no life, I'm becoming a nocturnal freak... and I'm adding a bunch of chapters tonight because I have writer's block.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 5  
  
"What?" Mrs. Gilmore said.  
  
"My name is Lorelai Leigh," Rory said. "And I believe I may be related to you somehow."  
  
"Well you are, and if that's all you need to know, you can leave," Mrs. Gilmore said staring at Rory. Rory didn't move. "Now!"  
  
"That's not all I need to know," Rory said softly.  
  
"Well there's not much I can tell you," Mrs. Gilmore said. "Your mother is my daughter, her name is Lorelai as well, Lorelai Victoria. That's it."  
  
"Where is she?" Rory asked.  
  
"Some small town near here, she doesn't contact us much, she just comes for holidays," Mrs. Gilmore said.  
  
"Is there some way I can meet her?" Rory asked.  
  
Mrs. Gilmore stared at her and sighed, "Fine. You will stay with us until Thanksgiving."  
  
"Thanksgiving?" Rory asked. "But that's almost two months away!"  
  
"I told you, she only comes for holidays, and Halloween isn't one of them," Mrs. Gilmore said.  
  
Rory nodded. "Thank you."  
  
"You will sleep in her room," Mrs. Gilmore said walking up the stairs, Rory followed her. The door opened to reveal a large room with lots of girly stuff. "You can use the phone if you need to," she motioned to the phone. "I've got to attend a meeting in an hour. I suppose you should come with me. Do you have appropriate clothes?"  
  
Rory looked down at what she was wearing. "I don't think so." She said.  
  
Mrs. Gilmore sighed. "Fine, I'll be here in fifteen minutes to take you shopping," she said and she walked out of the room.  
  
Rory sighed and walked to the phone. She punched in the number of her home in New York.  
  
"Hello?" she heard Jake's voice on the other line.  
  
"Jake?" Rory asked.  
  
"Rory?" Jake asked. "Is that you?"  
  
"Yeah," Rory said. "I'm Hartford."  
  
"I know," Jake said. "Did you find your mom?"  
  
"No, although I've found my grandmother, apparently I get to stay here until Thanksgiving when I get to meet my mother," Rory said. "Listen, my number here is 555-2145," Rory read off of the phone book sheet. "Call me if something happens I need to know about, but only then."  
  
"We miss you Rory," Jake said.  
  
"I know," Rory said. She sighed. "Tell Elizabeth I'll talk to her another time, I've got to go, bye."  
  
Rory hung up the phone without waiting to hear Jake's voice again. The pain of hearing his voice was all too much, she missed him.  
  
But she was here on a mission, which she planned to finish.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I"ve got most of it written and I'm just gonna post when I have time. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	6. Chapter 6

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!   
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested. Or leave a note in your review.  
  
Yeah, I have no life, I'm becoming a nocturnal freak... and I'm adding a bunch of chapters tonight because I have writer's block.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Rory entered the Independence Inn wearing a knee lenghth skirt, a blouse, and uncomfortable shoes. She didn't feel like herself anymore. She'd tried telling Emily that these weren't the kind of clothes she liked but Emily had been insistent.  
  
They entered the dining room to see many women dressed like Emily at a table that they went to join.  
  
"So sorry I'm late," Emily said formally. "But I'd like all of you to meet my granddaughter Rory."  
  
Rory nodded and sat down on the seat next to Emily.  
  
"Emily," one of the ladies said. "Do mean to say that this is Lorelai's daughter?"  
  
"Yes," Emily said.  
  
"Well I thought she was put up for adoption as soon as she was born," another lady said.  
  
"Well she was," Emily said. "But now she's back with us for a little while. Rory, why don't you go to the bathroom and wash up?"  
  
Rory nodded and heading in the direction Emily had pointed.  
  
She opened the bathroom door to see a pacing woman in front of the sinks.  
  
"Why does she do this to me? What is so bad about me seeing her?" the woman mumbled.  
  
"Are you okay?" Rory asked.  
  
"Fine," the woman said. "Just perfectly fine. Just that my mother has my daughter who came back looking for me and she called to tell me that I'm not going to see her until she 'refines' her a little which won't be until Thanksgiving. I just can't stand her."  
  
"I know what you mean," Rory said. "My grandmother won't let me meet my mother until Thanksgiving. I came all the way from New York and so far all I've done is gone shopping to get really uncomfortable clothes and meet a bunch of women who seem surprised that my grandmother's taken me in. She won't even tell me anything about my mother except that her name's Lorelai and she lives in a small town."  
  
The woman turned around. Rory looked at her. "Your mother's name is Lorelai?"  
  
Rory nodded.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"Well I go by Rory but it's really Lorelai Leigh." Rory was a little scared now. "Why?"  
  
"Is your mother's last name Gilmore?"  
  
"Yes," Rory said.  
  
"Well," Lorelai said. "I guess my mother's plan has been demolished."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Rory asked.  
  
"Rory," Lorelai said. "I'm Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, nice to meet you."  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I"ve got most of it written and I'm just gonna post when I have time. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	7. Chapter 7

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!   
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested. Or leave a note in your review.  
  
Yeah, I have no life, I'm becoming a nocturnal freak... and I'm adding a bunch of chapters tonight because I have writer's block.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Lorelai and Rory walked across the dining room at the Independence Inn. They reached Emily's table and Lorelai asked for a word with her.  
  
Emily looked shocked. "How...how..." she stammered. "I thought you were off today."  
  
"Well finding out that my mother had my daughter and wasn't allowing me to see her got me pretty pissed off so I decided I'd come to work and talk to Sookie and piss off Michel some to get my anger out," Lorelai said. "And lucky me, you just happend to drag Rory along with you to your meeting today. So now if you excuse us I'm taking Rory home with me now."  
  
"Oh no you're not," Emily said. "She is staying with me until Thanksgiving, we made a deal, didn't we Rory?"  
  
Rory groaned.  
  
On the way to the inn Emily had told her that they needed to make a deal, Rory would stay with them until Thanksgiving and then she could live with her mother, just so Emily could 'refine' her a little more.  
  
"You didn't," Lorelai said. "Did you?"  
  
"I did," Rory said with another groan. She sunk into a chair and slouched.  
  
"Sit up," Emily instructed her. She did. "Now if you'll excuse us Lorelai," Emily said grabbing Rory's hand. "We'll be leaving now."  
  
Emily dragged Rory out before she could even say goodbye.  
  
***  
  
"You knew there was a chance she'd be there today didn't you?" Rory accused Emily on the car ride back to the Gilmore mansion.  
  
"So what if I did?" Emily asked.  
  
"You knew that unless you made that deal with me that I'd be gone out of your life forever," Rory said.  
  
Emily pulled over and turned to Rory. "So what if I did?" she asked tears brimming her eyes. "I never wanted you to be put up for adoption but Richard insisted. I'd agreed with him until I saw you. You were so perfect that I never wanted to give you up. I wanted you and Lorelai to stay with us and Lorelai could continue high school and go to a good college and we could raise you with all the love you needed. I didn't even come and formally hand you over to your new parents, I hid around a corner and watched Lorelai, Christopher, and Richard hand you over. I wanted to run out and take you back and keep you, I didn't want to give you up.  
  
"I didn't talk to anyone for days. I don't even know why because I didn't like the fact that you were coming in the first place. I even hated my life because you were coming.  
  
"But then I held you in my arms and it all changed. But Richard wouldn't be persuaded to let Lorelai keep you and let her and you live with us. Although now I realize that would never have stayed with us for more than a year because the year after you were born Lorelai left. Ran away and only talked to us on holidays."  
  
"If you never wanted me to be adopted then why didn't you want me back?" Rory asked confused.  
  
"Because I knew you'd find Lorelai eventually and go back to her and I didn't want to loose you again," Emily said starting up the car again.  
  
Rory stared at her and awkwardly reached across the front seat to give her a hug, "I'm sorry Grandma," Rory said. That was the first time she'd called her Grandma. She'd always been Emily to her in her mind. And now, it just felt right.  
  
Emily hugged her back, "It's okay," she said. "It's not your fault."  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I"ve got most of it written and I'm just gonna post when I have time. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	8. Chapter 8

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!   
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested. Or leave a note in your review.  
  
Yeah, I have no life, I'm becoming a nocturnal freak... and I'm adding a bunch of chapters tonight because I have writer's block.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Rory was really getting sick of all these meetings. Her grandmother went to one about every other day and Rory had to attend most of the time.  
  
Luckily for her Thanksgiving was approaching. She'd been in Hartford for almost two months finally and Thanksgiving was in a week.  
  
Her grandmother was at a meeting she hadn't been forced to go to and Rory lay on her mothers old bed wearing the same jeans and sweatshirt she'd came in but she also wore a baseball cap backwards on her head which she hung over the side of the bed.  
  
She was bored out of her mind. She sighed. School was out by now and the boys would be in from basketball for dinner in an hour. They would spend the hour sitting at the kitchen table asking Elizabeth when dinner would be ready and John would come in the door from his work at a local school as a janitor and take a shower before sitting down and discussing basketball with the boys and joining them in asking Elizabeth when dinner would be ready.  
  
Rory laughed to herself. She remembered sitting there with them. The hour before dinner, as well as dinner, was family time. They would all sit around and laugh and joke and just enjoy being a family.  
  
Except Rory was never really part of the family. She wasn't their blood, they weren't related. She was the daughter they adopted. She didn't share and genes or DNA with any of them. The blood pounding through her system wasn't the blood of a Grant but the blood of a Gilmore.  
  
Rory was still trying to get used to this life. She had to wear nice clothes and be nice and go to a really expensive school called Chilton Preparatory where they had to wear a uniform.  
  
Not that she hated Chilton.  
  
It wasn't like that.  
  
She loved Chilton. It was a lot better than Washington. She was actually learning stuff and being somewhat challenged, which was new for her.  
  
Rory sighed. She missed home.  
  
She reached for her phone and dialed the number of their house in New York.  
  
"The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected. Please try again later."  
  
Rory groaned. They must not have been able to pay the bill this month. She wanted to talk to them, but she couldn't.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I"ve got most of it written and I'm just gonna post when I have time. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	9. Chapter 9

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!   
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested. Or leave a note in your review.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Lorelai opened the door to her Jeep and walked out on to the Gilmore driveway.  
  
She adjusted her skirt before walking to the door and ringing the doorbell.  
  
***  
  
Rory adjusted the skirt she was wearing up in Lorelai's old room. It was a little more her than the other ones her grandmother had made her get so she was pretty happy with it.  
  
She heard the doorbell ring and she took a deep breath.  
  
"This is it," she told herself.  
  
She looked around the room. Her backpack filled with the stuff she'd originally brought to Hartford and one of Emily's suitcases sat by the door. She would be leaving here tonight and she would be living with her real mother. Her birth mother.  
  
***  
  
Lorelai walked in the door as the maid held it open and her mother came to greet her.  
  
"Lorelai," Emily said. "How nice to see you."  
  
"Hi Mom," Lorelai said handing the maid her coat. "Where's Rory?"  
  
"She should be coming down soon," Emily said. "She wasn't dressed when I was up there five minutes ago but she'd at least finally finished packing."  
  
Lorelai nodded and heard noise on the stairs. She looked to see Rory walking down them.  
  
"Hi Rory," Lorelai said, suddenly unsure of how to act.  
  
"Hi," Rory said. What was she supposed to call her? Mom or Lorelai or even Ms. Gilmore?  
  
"Don't you look nice," Emily said to Rory.  
  
"Thanks Grandma," Rory said smiling and coming the rest of the way down the stairs.  
  
"Well dinner is ready so why don't we go get your grandfather and eat," Emily said.  
  
"Sounds good," Rory said.  
  
"Anything that has food in it sounds good to me too," Lorelai said.  
  
Rory noticed Emily roll her eyes.  
  
***  
  
"Well Mom," Lorelai said. "I better be going."  
  
"But it's only 9 o'clock," Emily said.  
  
"I know," Lorelai said. "But I'd like to take Rory around Stars Hollow and have her meet everyone before Luke's closes."  
  
"Luke's?" Rory asked.  
  
"Only the best diner with the best coffee in the world," Lorelai said.  
  
"Well," Emily said. "I guess so. Rory, go get your stuff."  
  
Rory smiled and bolted out of her chair and up the stairs.  
  
"Wow," Lorelai said. "She moves fast."  
  
"She grew up with seven brothers," Emily said.  
  
"Really?" Lorelai asked. "They only had one when she was adopted. They didn't think they could have more kids."  
  
"Well they could apparently," Emily said. "And they had 5 more. Rory said she was the only one in the house with her own bedroom. All the boys stayed in the same one."  
  
"Wow," Lorelai asked. "I thought they had a big house or something like that."  
  
"Well apparently the father lost his job and they moved to a small house in New York."  
  
Lorelai nodded and Rory raced back down the stairs.  
  
"Ready?" Lorelai asked her.  
  
"Ready as I'll ever be," Rory said.  
  
Lorelai smiled.  
  
"Bye Grandma," Rory said dropping her suitcase to give her grandmother a hug.  
  
"Bye Rory," Emily said. "Don't be a stranger."  
  
"I won't," Rory said. "I'll stop by after school sometimes."  
  
Emily nodded. "Bye!" She yelled to Rory and Lorelai as they walked to Lorelai's Jeep.  
  
She closed the door slowly and wiped away the tears on her cheeks.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I"ve got most of it written and I'm just gonna post when I have time. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	10. Chapter 10

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!   
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested. Or leave a note in your review.  
  
My writing site is finally up! Please check it out. The URL is in my profile. Some of my fan fiction not posted here is (or eventually will be) posted there.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 10  
  
***  
  
"So," Lorelai said to Rory as they drove towards Stars Hollow. "My mom says you grew up with 7 brothers."  
  
"Yeah," Rory said. She didn't know what to say or how to act. She'd been living with her grandparents for over a month and she knew how to act around them but she had a feeling that Lorelai was a totally different kind of person.  
  
"You seem nervous," Lorelai said to her.  
  
"I am a little," Rory said.  
  
"About what?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Well," Rory said. "This sounds kind of stupid but-"  
  
Lorelai cut her off, "You cannot sound stupid to me because I'm probably stupider than you."  
  
Rory laughed.  
  
"Is stupider even a word?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"I don't think so," Rory said with a smile.  
  
"Darn," Lorelai said. "I thought I was on a break through with my vocabulary. Anyway, back to your question."  
  
"What do I call you?" Rory asked. "I mean, to your face."  
  
"Whatever you want as long as it's not Brittney Spears or Dad," Lorelai said.  
  
"Okay," Rory said. She paused. "Mom."  
  
Lorelai smiled and reached over to give Rory a one armed hug.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I"ve got most of it written and I'm just gonna post when I have time. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	11. Chapter 11

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!   
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested. Or leave a note in your review.  
  
My writing site is finally up! Please check it out. The URL is in my profile. Some of my fan fiction not posted here is (or eventually will be) posted there.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 11  
  
"Luke!" Lorelai yelled as her and Rory entered Luke's Diner.  
  
"What now?" A man in a flannel shirt and backwards baseball cap asked Lorelai.  
  
"Look who I've got!" Lorelai asked putting her hands on Rory's shoulders.  
  
"Luke, I'd like you to meet Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, a.k.a. Rory," Lorelai said. "Rory, I'd like you to meet Luke Danes a.k.a grumpy diner guy who refuses to give me coffee until I beg for twenty minutes straight."  
  
Rory smiled, "Hi Luke."  
  
"This is Rory?" Luke asked looking at Lorelai.  
  
"Yep," Lorelai said with a smile.  
  
"She looks just like you," Luke said. "Not that I didn't expect her to, but I expected some Christopher in her."  
  
Lorelai made a slashing motion at her throat.  
  
"Christopher?" Rory asked.  
  
Lorelai sighed. "Your dad honey," she said.  
  
Rory nodded. She didn't know whether or not to keep pressing the matter. Lorelai seemed upset that Luke had mentioned him. Was there something Rory didn't know about Christopher? Was he dead?  
  
"How about coffee Luke?" Lorelai said.  
  
"No," Luke said walking behind the counter.  
  
"Please Luke? Please please please?" Lorelai begged. Rory watched in amazement. Her mother seemed a lot different than Elizabeth had been.  
  
"You told me you'd had three cups when you came in this morning and I gave you two more and I bet you've still had more than that," Luke said.  
  
"Nuh uh," Lorelai said making a face.  
  
Rory laughed. Her mom was a lot like a child. She teased and joked and seemed to be happy. She was a happy go lucky kind of person.  
  
Luke looked at her in disbelief.  
  
"So maybe I have," Lorelai said. "But I just spent the evening with my parents for God's sake. Let me have some coffee, please?"  
  
Luke sighed and poured her a cup.  
  
"Thank you Coffee God," Lorelai said with a large grin as she sat at the counter and took a gulp of her coffee.  
  
"You want something Rory?" Luke asked.  
  
"Um..." Rory looked at the menu in front of her and then at her mother. "I'll have coffee."  
  
Luke grabbed another pot of coffee and poured it for Rory while Lorelai set down her empty cup.  
  
"Nice," she said. "But give me the caffeine stuff now."  
  
Luke sighed and poured her coffee from the same pot he'd just filled Rory's with.  
  
"Can't fool the junkie," Luke said to Rory.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I"ve got most of it written and I'm just gonna post when I have time. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	12. Chapter 12

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!   
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested. Or leave a note in your review.  
  
My writing site is finally up! Please check it out. The URL is in my profile. Some of my fan fiction not posted here is (or eventually will be) posted there.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 12  
  
***  
  
A week had gone by and Rory was living comfortably with Lorelai in what Lorelai refered to as 'The Crap Shack'.  
  
Rory staggered out of her room and into the kitchen where Lorelai said staring into a cup of coffee.  
  
"Mom?" Rory asked with a yawn walking over to the coffee pot and pouring herself some. "You okay?"  
  
"Chris called," Lorelai said.  
  
"Chris?" Rory hadn't heard that name in the last week. Who was he?  
  
"Your dad," Lorelai said. She looked like she wished she would just fall into the cup of coffee in her hands.  
  
"Oh," Rory said not sure of what to say.  
  
"He found out you're here and he wants us to visit him," Lorelai said.  
  
"Is there something bad about that?" Rory asked.  
  
"Rory," Lorelai said finally looking up. "Your dad and I were only 16 when we had you. He offered to marry me and I refused because I didn't want to be married so early in my life. I figured we could stay together and get married when we were older. Well he didn't stick around. The day we graduated high school he ran off to Princeton and met another girl there and got her pregnant. Of course he offered to marry her too, and she accepted. They live in Hartford with two children in their mansion. When I found out he'd ran off to Princeton I figured, that was it. I packed up my bags and ran away from there. I stayed as a maid in at an Inn, the one I now run, and lived there in a small cottage in the backyard until I saved up enough for this house. But the fact that Chris didn't want to be a part of my life and now wants to be a part of yours, it just hurts."  
  
Rory nodded and gave her mom a hug, "Don't worry, you will always come first."  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Well you better get ready."  
  
"For what?" Rory asked. "It's Saturday."  
  
"We're visiting your father."  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I"ve got most of it written and I'm just gonna post when I have time. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	13. Chapter 13

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!   
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested. Or leave a note in your review.  
  
My writing site is finally up! Please check it out. The URL is in my profile. Some of my fan fiction not posted here is (or eventually will be) posted there.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 13  
  
***  
  
Lorelai closed the door to the Jeep and said quickly to Rory, "Go stand over there, I need to talk to Chris first."  
  
Rory nodded as Lorelai walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.  
  
A maid answered. "I need to speak with Chris," Lorelai said.  
  
The maid motioned her in and Lorelai stood in the foyer as the maid went upstairs to get Chris.  
  
Her mind wandered as she thought about what she could have had. Her eyes looked around at all the fancy decorating and furniture. It wasn't like Chris she'd known back in high school, but it was like the Chirs that lived here now.  
  
Lorelai had come to visit Chris only twice since Rory had been given up for adoption. She hadn't been back in ten years, it had been too painful the first two times.  
  
"Lor?" Chris's voice invaded her thoughts.  
  
"Hi Chris," Lorelai said. "I guess you know why I'm here."  
  
"Yeah," Chris said. "Where's Rory?"  
  
"She's outside Chris, but I have to warn you, she hasn't had an easy childhood. She grew up with five brothers in a tiny house in New York City. She's a tomboy now from living with all of them. She told me it was easier that she just wore her older brother's clothes before they were passed down to her other brothers," Lorelai said.  
  
Chris nodded and walked to the door. Rory stood looking out at the road.  
  
Chris stopped and Lorelai stopped next to him. "Rory?" Chris called to her.  
  
Rory turned quickly and started to walk towards them.  
  
"She looks like you," Chris said.  
  
"She did when she was born too," Lorelai said. "But you wouldn't know that would you?"  
  
"Not this again," Chris said. "You've held this grudge against me for 16 years, I'm sorry I didn't come to the hospital with you."  
  
Lorelai didn't say anything.  
  
"Hi," Rory said softly as she approached them.  
  
"Hi," Chris said. "I'm Chris."  
  
"I know," Rory said.  
  
Chris shifted uncomfortably. "Would you like to meet my family?"  
  
Rory nodded. "Sure."  
  
***  
  
Rory entered a large playroom to see a boyl playing on the ground, a girl sitting on the window seat staring out the window and twirling her hair, and a blonde haired woman who looked very pregnant sitting in a rocking chair.  
  
"G.G., Carver, come here and meet your half-sister Rory," Chris said to the kids.  
  
"Rory," Chris said. "This is G.G., she's 14, and Carver, he's ten. And that's Sherry my wife."  
  
"Hi," Rory said.  
  
G.G. stood before her and looked her over. Rory was wearing baggy jeans and a sweatshirt as usual. "Nice clothes," she said sarcastically before walking over to her mother.  
  
Rory heard her whispering loudly. "Why did Dad have to bring her here? Both of them."  
  
Sherry sighed and walked up to Chris motioning to him. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"  
  
They disappeared out into the hall and into another room.  
  
"I'm going to go use the bathroom," Lorelai said.  
  
Lorelai walked into the hall to hear Sherry yelling at Chris.  
  
"Why did you have to bring her back?" Sherry said harsly. "You know we all hate her. She was a part of your past, why does she have to be a part of your life now. And your daughter. Why did you even have to introduce her to our kids? You couldn't just meet Rory somewhere else, no you had to meet her here did you?"  
  
Lorelai was frozen in the doorway of the playroom as she listened to Sherry yell about her more.  
  
"They always do that," a voice said from next to her. Lorelai turned to see Carver standing next to her.  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that," Lorelai said.  
  
"They're never happy," Carver said sadly. "You and Rory make him happy. Who are you?"  
  
Lorelai remembered Carver had only been a few months old when she'd seen him last.  
  
"I'm an old friend of Chris," Lorelai said. "Rory's our daughter."  
  
"How come I've never met you before?" Carver asked.  
  
Lorelai smiled. "Rory was living in New York with an adopted family, you know what that is right?"  
  
Carver nodded. "That's the kind of people my younger brother lives with."  
  
"Younger brother?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Carver nodded again. "Kaden, he's not Daddy's son though and Daddy made her put him up for adoption. He's almost two now."  
  
Lorelai nodded looking calm. But inside she was confused. Sherry had an affair? She had never heard anything about this either.  
  
Lorelai entered the playroom again and motioned to an uncomfortable Rory. "We're leaving now."  
  
Lorelai turned to Carver. "Tell your Dad we left and it was nice seeing him."  
  
Lorelai walked downstairs and out the door with Rory right behind her.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I'm coming down to the end of what I've written already, I did just finish a chapter today but it's only 15 chapters so far. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	14. Chapter 14

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!   
  
Still looking for betas for On Eagle's Wings, e-mail me if interested. Or leave a note in your review.  
  
My writing site is finally up! Please check it out. The URL is in my profile. Some of my fan fiction not posted here is (or eventually will be) posted there.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 14  
  
***  
  
Emily Gilmore reached for her phone as it rang.  
  
"Hello, Gilmore Residence," She said in a very proper voice into the phone.  
  
"Is Rory there?" an echoing voice asked indicating that the call was being made from a payphone or a cellphone.  
  
"No," Emily said. "She doesn't live here anymore."  
  
"Could you please give me the number of where she is?" the voice repeated. "It's very important, this is her brother."  
  
Emily sighed as she gave the number to the boy and saying a polite good-bye hung up.  
  
***  
  
Rory ran around frantically looking for the phone while Lorelai made coffee in the kitchen.  
  
"Hello?" she asked exausted after picking up right before the answering machine.  
  
"Rory?" an echoing voice said into her ear.  
  
"Jake?" Rory asked him.  
  
"Yeah," Jake said. "Rory, you need to come home."  
  
"What?" Rory said. "Come on Jake, I need to get to know my mother, you know that."  
  
"Rory," Jake said softly. "Dad's dead."  
  
"What?" Rory shrieked into the phone. "He can't be dead, he's not dead. Jake, stop teasing me."  
  
"I'm not teasing you Rory," Jake said sniffling. "There was a shooting at his school again and he was shot and he died this morning and we tried to reach you when the shooting happened but our phone is out because we couldn't pay the phone bill and the heating bill for the past two months and we didn't want to use the money to call you on the payphone unless it was really serious. Rory, he's dead."  
  
Rory felt tears welling up in her eyes and she blinked carefully and they fell quickly down her face. "Jake," she managed to get out. "I'm coming back, meet me outside the house."  
  
"Rory," Lorelai said. "Who died?"  
  
"My dad," Rory said. "Back in New York. I've got to get there." Rory ran into her room and grabbed her backpack she had brought with her and she threw some clothes into it including one of her newer dresses for his funeral.  
  
"Rory," Lorelai said. "Slow down. Let me get packed before you run out of the house."  
  
"You're coming with me?" Rory asked slowly.  
  
"Of course," Lorelai said. "Now wait a few minutes and then we'll go catch a train to New York."  
  
Rory nodded slowly.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it! I'm coming down to the end of what I've written already, I did just finish a chapter today but it's only 15 chapters so far. Please review!  
  
~Emily Carol 


	15. Chapter 15

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!   
  
My writing site is up! Please check it out. The URL is in my profile. Some of my fan fiction not posted here is posted there, or will be when I decide it's good enough.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 15  
  
***  
  
"Jake!" Rory said running to her brother. She threw her arms around him in a hug and started to sob into his shoulder. "It's not fair Jake," she cried.  
  
"I know Rory," Jake said as he hugged her back.  
  
Lorelai kept her distance. This boy standing a few yards away from her had been a brother to Rory for sixteen years, probably less, he looked younger than her.  
  
He'd spent his whole life thinking that the girl who lived in the same house as him was his sister.  
  
"Where's everyone else?" Rory asked pulling out of the hug and wiping her eyes.  
  
"Chris is with mom, they're talking with the lawyer, Ricky and Joe went down to Hartford today actually, to stay with Aunt JoAnne, and Josh and Kevin are at the Smith's," Jake referred to the neighbors two streets over who watched out for their family.  
  
Rory nodded. "So how are they all doing? Now that I'm gone?"  
  
"We were doing pretty good," Jake said. "Until the shooting. I moved into your room with Ricky and Joe. We were managing. How are you?"  
  
"I'm good," Rory said. She motioned to Lorelai. "Jake, this is my mom."  
  
"Nice to meet you Ms. Gilmore," Jake said straightening up and looking Lorelai straight in the eye as he extended his hand.  
  
Lorelai smiled and shook his hand. "Call me Lorelai. I'm sorry to hear about your dad, he seemed nice when I met him sixteen years ago."  
  
Rory smiled. "Dad was the greatest. He taught me how to play basketball so that I could beat all of the guys."  
  
"RORY!"  
  
Rory turned to see Josh and Kevin running towards her. Mrs. Smith walked behind them with her son, Daniel, on her hip.  
  
Josh and Kevin stopped right in front of Rory and gave her high fives before she gathered them up into a hug. "I missed you."  
  
Josh and Kevin hugged back, not caring that they looked funny, a thirteen year old and a fourteen year old hugging their sister in the middle of the street.  
  
"Hello Rory," Mrs. Smith said as she approached them. "It's nice to see you again."  
  
"It's nice to see you again too Mrs. Smith," Rory said with a smile.  
  
"I best be getting back, I'll just leave Josh and Kevin with you for now," Mrs. Smith told her with a smile and started down the street.  
  
Rory waved goodbye to Mrs. Smith. "Thanks."  
  
Rory turned back around to face her families. Lorelai looked sort of uncomfortable Rory noticed with a glance but Kevin started talking to her, so she didn't get a good feeling for how Lorelai was.  
  
"Are Ricky and Joe gonna come back now?" Kevin asked her. "It's not right for them to split our family up."  
  
"I know," Rory said wiping more tears away from her eyes only to discover that her face became wet again quickly. "I don't know if Ricky or Joe will come back anytime soon. Before the funeral."  
  
Kevin nodded and tried to fight back tears. Guys from this side of town didn't cry, especially in the middle of the street. Rory knew he was trying to hide it so she gathered him in her arms and let him cry on her shoulder. Josh wrapped his arms around his sister from one side while Jake enveloped them all in his arms.  
  
Lorelai stood off to the side looking at the small family.  
  
What had she done? Because of her this girl - this sister - had been pulled away from her family.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you like it, I've actually written the Epilogue and the next update will be my last.  
  
~Emily Carol 


	16. Epilogue

Tomboy  
  
By Emily Carol  
  
Summary: AU - Richard and Emily forced Lorelai and Christopher to put Rory up for adoption after she was born. Now Rory's 16 and living in a family full of boys on the outskirts of New York City. A search for her actual mother on her 16th birthday throws her into a life she never expected. Can a tomboy like her stand it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (and I didn't last chapter either... life can be so unfair)  
  
Author's note: Thanks to all reviewers!   
  
This is the last chapter...::tear:: I'm sad to see it go. I loved writing this story.  
  
****  
  
Epilogue  
  
***  
  
A soft breeze ruffled Rory Gilmore's hair as she stood in the grass near her father's grave. A tear fell down her cheek, followed by more. She furiously wiped her face with the palm of her hand, but the tears wouldn't give in.  
  
It had been a month since the death of James Carter, not her biological father, but a father in every other way.  
  
Rory still hadn't left New York. She told Lorelai she needed time. So Lorelai came up on weekends to see her.  
  
"Dad?" She asked into the wind. "Dad? What do I do now? They need me here but...but I need Stars Hollow. I'm not meant for the big city anymore Dad, I need quiet, and peace. And what about school? If I stay here I'll never get to college, but I can go anywhere from Chilton Dad. Anywhere, college...an Ivy League college. My grandfather says I could make it into Harvard, Dad, Harvard. Just think of the possibillites.  
  
"But Dad? I can't leave Elizabeth and the boys. Elizabeth's just getting back on her feet, Chris left. He just left, no note, nothing.  
  
"Kinda like I left you, huh Dad? You know I didn't mean to, but I had to meet my real mother. Oh Dad, you would love Lorelai. She's exactly what you said everyone should be like, happy and full of life. She has everything she needs; love. She gives it and people give it to her.  
  
"Sometimes she just blasts music all over our house and dances to it. She's constantly not acting her age, always younger. She's funny and kind and...just one of the greatest people I've ever met, she's right up there on the list by you Dad."  
  
Rory stopped talking, the wind had grown stronger and she shivered as she turned to leave. Vowing to come back tomorrow.  
  
"I heard you talking to him," Lorelai walked out from behind a tree on the edge of the cemetery. "I hope you don't mind."  
  
Rory shook her head as she wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm.  
  
"Did you mean it? Everything about me?" Lorelai's eyes seemed to threaten to spill over.  
  
Rory wiped at more tears as she nodded her head, "I did."  
  
Lorelai walked towards her and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug.  
  
"I'm ready to go home Mom," Rory said softly.  
  
"Okay, I'm here until Sunday," Lorelai told her, not realizing what she meant.  
  
"No Mom, I'm ready to go home, to Stars Hollow," Rory looked up at her mother. "With you."  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Hope you really enjoyed it. This is beginning the ending of me posting my stories here, for the second time. If you want to read any thing (please do, I enjoy critisism and encouragement) remember, at my website which is in my profile!  
  
Thank you to all my readers and reviewers: Callista NicTeryn, smile1, gemstar2, Spuffyluvr, camdengirl4ever, coffechick87, Mrs. Carly Corinthose, Kate, RoryJess4evea, Blaney, Sarah, QueenLorelaiCoffee, jalna, An Adopted Person (thank you for you flamer...), Robin2, StephieM, melissa, imonadiet, punkcatwitissues, not4me, SarkLover, and gilmorelvr. Plus anyone who I accidently missed or any of you who read but never reviewed.  
  
Thank you all a lot, your reviews kept me going.  
  
~Emily Carol 


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